LHG Roundtable: Favorite E3 Moments Part 2: WickedPixelated Edition!

Disclaimer! *The thoughts and opinions from the LosHarrowGames writers do not represent all of LosHarrow*. We are talking about our favorite moments from E3’s Past. The employees, products, or companies have every right to be a part of this.. No matter if you have some interest in video games, are new to video games, or a die-hard fan, we are all #GamersUnited. That being said, get ready to soak in all the joy and happiness from us.

No matter who you ask that likes video games, they will have at least one moment from E3 that they lost it over in a good way. Over the course of this two-parter you will hear from the usual suspects and some people you either haven’t heard from or haven’t from in a while. Now, let’s get this started.

Magic Mike “The Bizness Man” Bizier – Keyboard Finger Dancer

Nintendo 2017. Ninten-does Whatever They Want

Like many of our fine readers out there, I have what you would call a love/hate relationship with Nintendo. As the innovator of the big three with a keen eye on the more casual market, Nintendo’s views on gaming range from good, to bad, to just plain weird. By now we’re all familiar with the colossal failure of the Wii U back in 2015. The damage was so bad that even with the release of the Switch, Nintendo still needed to earn back a lot of trust from its more hardcore fans. Thankfully, all fears of another Wii U situation were laid to rest with Nintendo’s E3 2017 Direct.

As a strong supporter of the underdog, I desperately hoped for some exciting new announcements for Nintendo’s E3 2017 presentation. Thankfully Nintendo came with their guns fully loaded. I completely lost my shit at the few very brief announcements they made. A new Metroid Prime game?? The very first traditional Pokemon game on a home(ish) console??? These are not only some of Nintendo’s finest franchises, but arguably some of the finest series in all of gaming. I was left salivating for more and very hopeful for the Big N’s future.

Just when I thought I had seen it all, Nintendo plays a trailer that opens with a giant T-Rex stomping in a field. Only it isn’t an ordinary T-Rex, it’s a T-Rex with…a Mario hat? Yup, I can only be talking about the Super Mario Odyssey announcement trailer. The amount of new ideas on display in the Super Mario Odysssey trailer was simply astounding. Seeing Mario mind control enemies a la Oddworld with just the flick of his hat made me jump for joy. The transition between 3D and 2D gameplay was a sight to behold, and I don’t think I will ever un-see  Mario standing next to a regular ass human being. This was innovation at its finest.

These weren’t just announcements from Nintendo. Combined, they made a statement that Nintendo can still hold their own against the might of Sony and Microsoft. It was a declaration that they would never fall from grace again. This was the moment that made me feel proud to own a Switch. Sure the Direct also showcased Kirby and Yoshi, but that friendly reminder that Nintendo has the greatest IPs in all of video game-dom was all I needed to declare Nintendo’s presentation the greatest upset in E3 history.

Aneudys Tejeda “Wicked Pixelated” – Newbie

E3 2016 Sony Press conference – Crash Bandicoot Trilogy Remaster Announcement.

Summer 2016, Angry Birds was the best videogame film adaptation, and Ariana Grande was still Into You. More importantly this was an incredible year that put Sony on a trajectory to dominate E3. Games that we would be shown the following year… and the following year again. However, in 2016 this was all fresh and new and so our jaws dropped as God of War was revealed as the opening to what would be probably one of Sony’s best conferences.

The hits keep on coming as the stage was nearly empty showing cinematic trailer after trailer. What’s Bend Studios up to? Boom, Days Gone reveal. Remember Last Guardian? Boom, release date. The show continued showing off first party titles like Detroit: Become Human and 3rd Party reveals like Resident Evil 7. Throw in some VR Support, a little Square Enix JRPG, and a dash of Call of Duty and you get your next reveal.

Out onto the stage we get Shaun Layden with a stage lit up to match the shores of N. Sanity Island and music from the early levels of Crash Bandicoot. Now at this point I have tears running down my face, that is not an exaggeration. Crash Bandicoot was one of the first PlayStation games I ever played after I got it for Christmas. Crash is an integral part of what got me into videogames. Not to mention Crash Bandicoot 2 is a game I speed run at least once a year, its truly one of my favorite games.

Now the only logical thing I could think of at this point is with Activision running Spryo into the ground with Toys-to-Life, the best case Scenario here is a mediocre platformer reboot. I would have been 100% okay with this, but no. With the crowds jolt reaction to the screen before Shaun could even speak, they revealed a remaster of Crash Bandicoot 1, 2, and 3. Again, this could have been a PS1 port onto the PS4 and I also would have been 100% okay with that too. But a full on remaster! Of all 3 games! Now from here, they segwayed into Crash being in the new Spyro: Imaginators game, and the show went on.

They didn’t even show gameplay footage, no tease as a proof of concept. Just, we’re doing this, check out these logos, here’s Spyro. Just the mention alone of a Crash Trilogy Remaster with no proof was enough for this to be one of the most memorable announcements for me. This during a press conference that closed out with Hideo Kojima on stage showing a Death Stranding trailer and ending on the reveal of Marvel’s Spider-Man. All these amazing trailers in what is possibly the most streamlined conference put on to this point, and HD Logos of PS1 games was my biggest takeaway.

Side note, Crash Team Racing is also pretty damn sweet.

There you have it! The WickedPixelated boys talk about their favorite E3 moments in written form rather than talk about it on their show. Thank you for making it to this point. I guess that’s all folks!